In February, 2017, I bought a 2003 Mercedes Benz ML500 SUV Chassis No. 4JGAB75E23A400728 advertised on Craigslist from Rinnerberger for $3,100. At that time, Rinnerberger gave me a signed and notarized title for the vehicle. On March 5, 2017 he signed a bill of sale to me for the same vehicle.
I bought the vehicle with the intention of re-selling it. Upon information and belief, that vehicle has a market value of $4,700, which is the amount I expected to receive from the vehicle upon resale.
On March 1, 2018, I attempted to register the vehicle but found out there was a hold on the title, and therefore I could not title it in my name. Unfortunately, I had already paid for a 6 month insurance policy on it.
On April 7, 2018, the car was impounded. The police instructed me to contact the person whose name was on the title to get the car out of impound.
On April 10, 2018, I emailed Rinnerberger about the impoundment, but never received a response.
On May 7, 2018, the 30-day impoundment ended. I went back to the MVD and tried to title the car so that I could get it out of impound. However, MVD informed me that the title I held was no longer valid because a duplicate title for the vehicle had been issued to Rinnerberger on April 12, 2018 and the car was no longer impounded.
On May 8, 2018, my neighbor, Teddy Allen, recorded his telephone conversation with Rinnerberger in which Rinnerberger said “The car is now mine.” He demanded I pay him $1,200 or he would "donate" the car.
At that point I called the Phoenix police who issued a report describing the incident as a class 3 felony, "theft by fraud", report # 2018-89950.
Later on May 31, 2018, I received a text message from Rinnerberger demanding that I PayPal him $394, and when he received the funds he would initiate transfer of the car. I called the police again who advised me not to send any money.
At that point, I hired an attorney, Anthony Petty.
On June 22, 2018, attorney Petty, Phoenix Police Detective Abe Flores and I had a meeting with Rinnerberger which was held at the police sub station. Rinnerberger showed up without the car, but had an envelope with a map inside allegedly showing where the car was parked on top of a parking structure. Rinnerberger demanded that I pay him a sum of money but I refused. He stormed out of the Police building and left.
In August, I hired a new attorney, Chris Koester, to negotiate with Rinnerberger for the return of the car. Negotiations broke off on or around November 16, 2018 after Rinnerberger refused to answer phone calls or return voice mail messages or emails, then he changed his phone number.
On April 2, 2019, I filed a civil lawsuit. The Sheriff process server attempted to serve Rinnerberger at his Scottsdale address, but the drapes were open and the place was vacant.
I have since hired a private investigator. We suspect he has moved out of state and don't know if he still has the car. Scottsdale Police ran the VIN number and said the car is still registered to Rinnerberger.
To date, May 4, 2019, I have not recovered possession of the vehicle and do not know where he is.
However, I did get a response from one of his 3 or 4 ex-wives. She said, "I'm so sorry, I divorced him way back in early 2013. He has no conscience or sense of right and wrong in general, he's also a serial cheater. I'm sorry he did that to you!".
Roland Rinnerberger Reviews
In February, 2017, I bought a 2003 Mercedes Benz ML500 SUV Chassis No. 4JGAB75E23A400728 advertised on Craigslist from Rinnerberger for $3,100. At that time, Rinnerberger gave me a signed and notarized title for the vehicle. On March 5, 2017 he signed a bill of sale to me for the same vehicle.
I bought the vehicle with the intention of re-selling it. Upon information and belief, that vehicle has a market value of $4,700, which is the amount I expected to receive from the vehicle upon resale.
On March 1, 2018, I attempted to register the vehicle but found out there was a hold on the title, and therefore I could not title it in my name. Unfortunately, I had already paid for a 6 month insurance policy on it.
On April 7, 2018, the car was impounded. The police instructed me to contact the person whose name was on the title to get the car out of impound.
On April 10, 2018, I emailed Rinnerberger about the impoundment, but never received a response.
On May 7, 2018, the 30-day impoundment ended. I went back to the MVD and tried to title the car so that I could get it out of impound. However, MVD informed me that the title I held was no longer valid because a duplicate title for the vehicle had been issued to Rinnerberger on April 12, 2018 and the car was no longer impounded.
On May 8, 2018, my neighbor, Teddy Allen, recorded his telephone conversation with Rinnerberger in which Rinnerberger said “The car is now mine.” He demanded I pay him $1,200 or he would "donate" the car.
At that point I called the Phoenix police who issued a report describing the incident as a class 3 felony, "theft by fraud", report # 2018-89950.
Later on May 31, 2018, I received a text message from Rinnerberger demanding that I PayPal him $394, and when he received the funds he would initiate transfer of the car. I called the police again who advised me not to send any money.
At that point, I hired an attorney, Anthony Petty.
On June 22, 2018, attorney Petty, Phoenix Police Detective Abe Flores and I had a meeting with Rinnerberger which was held at the police sub station. Rinnerberger showed up without the car, but had an envelope with a map inside allegedly showing where the car was parked on top of a parking structure. Rinnerberger demanded that I pay him a sum of money but I refused. He stormed out of the Police building and left.
In August, I hired a new attorney, Chris Koester, to negotiate with Rinnerberger for the return of the car. Negotiations broke off on or around November 16, 2018 after Rinnerberger refused to answer phone calls or return voice mail messages or emails, then he changed his phone number.
On April 2, 2019, I filed a civil lawsuit. The Sheriff process server attempted to serve Rinnerberger at his Scottsdale address, but the drapes were open and the place was vacant.
I have since hired a private investigator. We suspect he has moved out of state and don't know if he still has the car. Scottsdale Police ran the VIN number and said the car is still registered to Rinnerberger.
To date, May 4, 2019, I have not recovered possession of the vehicle and do not know where he is.
However, I did get a response from one of his 3 or 4 ex-wives. She said, "I'm so sorry, I divorced him way back in early 2013. He has no conscience or sense of right and wrong in general, he's also a serial cheater. I'm sorry he did that to you!".